Saturday, September 30, 2017

If you know anything about my personal style, you'll know how much I love to wear layers. Sadly, I think we've reached a critical point in the season where it's no longer viable to wear a coat with a vintage chiffon dress. I'm not going to necessarily resort to lounging around in my underwear but it's certainly going to take a lot of problem-solving to keep coming up with new and exciting outfits without collapsing from heat exhaustion. There'll be a lot of vintage-inspired duster jackets and accessories to spice things up, and hopefully hand-crafted earrings very soon! I've been keeping it a secret, but I'm planning to reopen my Etsy shop and start selling upcycled clothing and pom pom earrings!

Friday, September 29, 2017

The more things change, the more they seem to stay the same. A recent campaign by Versace reminded me of 'Grunge and Glory', an editorial styled by Grace Coddington and photographed by Steven Meisel. Although it seems to fit perfectly within the current fashion landscape, when grunge was first co-opted by the fashion industry it was both controversial and revolutionary. The editorial appeared in US Vogue in December 1992, and features Naomi Campbell and Kristen McMenamy.

Tuesday, September 26, 2017

If you're feeling blue about the end of Summer, consider the street style at Copenhagen Fashion Week to be an invitation to indulge in bright suits, summery dresses and statement jewellery and a Cult Gaia clutch purse. If the weather does change though, wherever possible wear layers but by all means still drink pina coladas.

Sunday, September 24, 2017

So few designers are able to hold my attention during Milan Fashion Week. And it’s not that the clothes aren’t good, it’s just that they just don’t speak to me in my current stage of life. I’m still an eccentric millennial, seeking that statement shoe or great jacket that will serve me well into my thirties, forties and beyond. While many women would hardly consider the creations of Marco de Vincenzo to fit the bill, I could not disagree more. The clothes made by this Italian are like fireworks in one sense- dazzling compositions of colour, pattern and texture, but they tend to linger, living both in our memory and for the lucky few, in closets too. There was so much to love about Spring 2016, including but not limited to the metallic leather, pleated lurex and the oddball sunglasses- an accessory which seemed to be straight out of The Wizard of Oz. The real statement were the fringed crepe georgette, embellishing everything from coats to flared trousers, t-shirts to tunics giving everything an otherworldly vibe, somehow still bearing resemblance to fur and feathers.

Although
the texture in of itself made for a dazzling spectacle, there was
colour too. The movement of the clothes down the runway almost creates
the illusion of particles of colour physically vibrating right before
your very eyes. “It’s all about following my instinct for color,” de
Vincenzo said backstage. It’s that very daring and bravado which has de
Vincenzo tipped as a future pillar within the Italian fashion industry,
and mainstay on the Milan Fashion Week roster. You won’t find a
moodboard as the starting point for a collection either, with the
designer (who sometimes moonlights for Fendi) adding a collection rarely
starts without a fabric swatch in his hands. Since early runway shows,
Marco de Vincenzo has celebrated texture by use of embellishment and up
until this point in his career, all inspiration seemed to point to Rome.
However, a trip to Japan preceding the creation of Spring 2016 has
resulted in silken kimono fabrics incorporated into a handful of coats,
as well as the distinct red disc of the Japanese flag, and silhouette of
Mt. Fuji appearing on various tops.

Another
highlight and surprise hidden within the collection were the cocktail
dresses- a throwback to the 90s and something one would expect from
Versace or possibly Jean Paul Gautier. The underwire from a bra was
inserted into the cocktail dress, acting to separate one fabric from
another. While some consider the move genius and bold, others weren’t
convinced. There is something to be said about the daring of this
particular designer, and an eye for combining colour, pattern and
texture to either highlight or obscure the female figure. The optical
illusion was accentuated when coupled with lace fabric, transforming
what would normally be a rather petite model into a more curvy woman,
rocking what looked like a B cup. Similar to contouring, I’ve convinced
myself that wizards are real, and that they simply harness and shape
light to bend to their will. Naturally, eveningwear has normally
received the lion’s share of the accolades when it comes to reviews,
however a metallic jacket, rainbow collared blouse and lilac pencil
skirt are the unsung heroes of the collection. De Vincenzo is normally
quite brazen when it comes to powerclashing, a term coined in girls and
referring to mismatched patterns and as per usual, for the Italian it’s
paid off.